As temperatures heat up here, it is too warm to grow the lettuces and spinach that friends or family in colder climates may be planting; we’ve already enjoyed those salad greens from wonderful winter gardens. Here in Tucson, we may be more in synch with gardeners and farmers in Israel than with those in most of the United States.

In the Southwest, the big summer crops are the “three sisters” — corn, beans, and squash. Corn is native only to the Americas. But both this region and Israel have traditionally grown varieties of beans and members of the squash family.

Garbanzo beans have long been a staple in the Middle East, and we learn of lentils in Genesis 25:34, when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. Native Seeds/SEARCH, which gathers and sells seeds adapted to the Tucson area climate, carries varieties of garbanzo beans and lentils that were introduced by the Spanish. Paula Tobenfeld, president of the American Friends of Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel, notes that garbanzo beans are harvested during the summer in Israel; in our desert, they are grown only in the fall and winter, while lentils may be sown in the fall or the early spring.

To grow beans in the summer, we must turn to those native to this region. My favorites are tepary beans, which mature quickly and are very tolerant of low desert heat and drought. I’ve saved some pods full of seeds from last year, which can be planted now or with the summer rains in early July.

We are in the time of year that commemorates the wandering in the desert after fleeing Egypt. When people grew tired of manna, they longed for the flavorful leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt (Numbers 11:5). These plants can also be grown in our region in the cooler weather. As a reminder, we even have the nearby town of Ajo, which is Spanish for “garlic.” The native Tohono O’odham people obtained a red pigment paint (au-auho) from the area, and later Mexican miners chose a similar sound for the town after the abundant wild garlic known as the Ajo lily.

In the heat of the desert, the Israelites also fondly recalled the cooling cucumbers and melons of Egypt. Native Seeds/SEARCH carries a variety of watermelons and other melons that were introduced by the Spanish. They also carry several native relatives of cucumber that can be eaten while immature as summer squash, or allowed to remain on the vine and harvested as winter squash. All of these squashes and melons can be planted now or with the summer rains.

Cotton has been an important crop in both of our regions since ancient times, and Israel is emerging as one of the major growers of organic cotton. We may enhance our connection with the land by growing a little ourselves in our gardens; Native Seeds/SEARCH sells several varieties that can be planted now.

In the Southwest, the fresh leaves of cilantro are used as a cooking herb. But the same plant is known as coriander when the emphasis is on use of the ground seed (mentioned in Exodus 16:31). I’ve had good results from Seeds of Change Slow Bolt cilantro. I let some of the plants flower each year, and gather the seeds, which will be ready soon. I can then include them with the produce I use to celebrate Shavuot on May 23. When I lived on a kibbutz in Israel, I experienced the Shavuot celebration of bounty that was in some ways similar to an American Thanksgiving or other fall harvest festival.

In ancient times, the bikkurim or first fruits were taken to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; in a time without a Temple, as each plant first ripens, I make a shorter pilgrimage to the home of a neighbor or other friend. Giving away the first fruits is a reminder that, although I tend these plants, I do not own them, and their produce does not belong to me. Instead they are a gift to be shared. In the process of giving away the first fruits to a friend rather than the Temple priest of the past, I see the priest/ priestess in each person. I focus on how each of us can bring holiness to the world through our actions.

Deborah Mayaan is a writer and energy work and flower essence practitioner based in Tucson. www.deborahmayaan. com

Resources:

Native Seeds/SEARCH: 526 N. Fourth Avenue, 622-5561. www. nativeseeds.org

Neot Kedumim: www.n-k.org.il/ public/index.htm

Seeds of Change: Seeds are available in some local health food stores. www.seedsofchange.com